JP2015077216A - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve resolution of a diagnostic image by effectively utilizing a speckle as diagnostic information.SOLUTION: An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes: a probe 1 which transmits/receives an ultrasonic wave to/from an analyte: a transmission/reception part 2 which drives the probe by outputting an ultrasonic signal of a fundamental wave and performs reception processing of an ultrasonic signal received by the probe; an image generation part 3 which generates a fundamental wave image and a harmonic wave image on the basis of reflection echo signals of the fundamental wave and the harmonic wave subjected to the reception processing at the transmission/reception part; a fundamental wave image separation part 401 which separates a fundamental wave structure image and a fundamental wave speckle image from the fundamental wave image generated by the image generation part 3; a harmonic wave image separation part 402 which extracts a harmonic wave speckle image from the harmonic wave image generated by the image generation part 3; a speckle image synthesis part 403 which generates a synthesis speckle image obtained by performing addition synthesis of the fundamental wave speckle image and the harmonic wave speckle image by multiplying a weighting coefficient set variably according to the depth; a synthesis part 404 which performs addition synthesis of the fundamental wave structure image separated by the fundamental wave image separation part 401 and the synthesis speckle image; and a display part 5 which displays the synthesis image.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more specifically to a technique for improving the quality of an ultrasonic diagnostic image from the very shallow portion to the deep portion.

  In general, a fundamental wave image of a fundamental frequency component (hereinafter referred to as a fundamental wave) and a harmonic of a harmonic component of the fundamental wave based on a reflected echo signal from the subject corresponding to an ultrasonic wave transmitted to the subject. An image is generated and these images are combined to improve the quality of a diagnostic image (for example, Patent Document 1). That is, it is based on the fact that the portion having a shallow depth has excellent harmonic image resolution, while the portion having a deep depth has excellent sensitivity of the fundamental wave image. Such a technique is useful because it is possible to obtain an image with a good view to the deep part without the trouble of switching to the fundamental wave image while observing the living tissue with high resolution.

  In the patent document 1, in order to further improve the quality of an image, it is proposed to add and synthesize a fundamental wave image and a harmonic image by adding a weighting factor that is 1 to each other. In particular, the weighting factor for the fundamental wave image is set to 0 in a range shallower than the first setting depth, and the weighting factor for the fundamental wave image is set to 0 to 1 in the range up to the second setting depth deeper than the first setting depth. In the range deeper than the second set depth, the weighting factor for the fundamental wave image is set to 1, and the weighting factor for the harmonic image is set to a value obtained by subtracting the weighting factor for the fundamental wave image from 1. Proposed.

JP 2012-66145 A

  According to the technique of Patent Document 1, since the harmonics are not generated in the extremely shallow portion, the image becomes dark and it is difficult to observe a part close to the body surface. In addition, an image obtained by synthesizing a fundamental wave image and a harmonic image may swell in luminance near the boundary where the signal intensities of the two images are different.

  In addition, including Patent Document 1, conventionally, no consideration is given to actively using speckles for diagnostic images. In speckle, when the reflected echo signal from a scattering source (for example, a cell boundary) of biological tissue smaller than the wavelength of the fundamental wave is observed, the generated scattered waves interfere with each other, and the amplitude of the reflected echo signal Intensity is generated in the image, and the intensity appears as white dot-like or granular noise in the image. This is called a speckle pattern or speckle noise. Conventionally, image quality is improved in the direction of removing speckle.

  However, speckle is a reflected echo signal from a living tissue smaller than the wavelength of the fundamental wave. However, speckle is information that can be effectively used as diagnostic information since it is a reflected echo signal from living tissue. The speckle of the harmonic image in the section contains information that can be used effectively.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to improve the resolution of diagnostic images by effectively using speckles as diagnostic information.

  In order to solve the above problems, as a first aspect of the present invention, a probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a subject, and outputs the fundamental wave ultrasonic signal to drive the probe A transmission / reception unit for receiving and processing an ultrasonic signal received by the probe; and a fundamental wave image and a harmonic image based on the fundamental wave and the harmonic reflection echo signal received and processed by the transmission / reception unit. An image generation unit to be generated, a harmonic image separation unit that extracts a harmonic speckle image from a harmonic image generated by the image generation unit, and the fundamental wave image and the harmonic speckle image are added and synthesized. Proposed is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including a synthesis unit that generates a synthesized image and a display unit that displays the synthesized image.

  As a second aspect of the present invention, a probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a subject, and outputs the fundamental wave ultrasonic signal to drive the probe, and the probe A transmission / reception unit for receiving and processing the ultrasonic signal received by the image processing unit, and an image generation unit for generating a fundamental wave image and a harmonic image based on the fundamental wave and the harmonic reflection echo signal received and processed by the transmission / reception unit; A fundamental wave image separation unit that extracts a fundamental wave structure image obtained by removing a fundamental wave speckle image from the fundamental wave image generated by the image generation unit; and a harmonic spec from the harmonic image generated by the image generation unit. A harmonic image separation unit that extracts a spectrum image; and a synthesis unit that generates a synthesized image obtained by adding and combining the fundamental wave structure image and the harmonic speckle image by weighting factors that are variably set according to depth. And an ultrasonic diagnosis comprising a display unit for displaying the composite image To propose a device.

  Furthermore, as a third aspect of the present invention, a probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a subject, and outputs the fundamental wave ultrasonic signal to drive the probe, and the probe A transmission / reception unit for receiving and processing the ultrasonic signal received by the image processing unit, and an image generation unit for generating a fundamental wave image and a harmonic image based on the fundamental wave and the harmonic reflection echo signal received and processed by the transmission / reception unit; A fundamental wave image separation unit that separates a fundamental wave structure image and a fundamental wave speckle image from the fundamental wave image generated by the image generation unit; and a harmonic speckle image from the harmonic image generated by the image generation unit. Specs for generating a composite speckle image obtained by adding and synthesizing the fundamental speckle image and the harmonic speckle image by a weighting factor that is variably set according to the depth. And the fundamental wave spectrum from the fundamental wave image. It proposes a synthesis section for adding synthesized to remove cycle image and fundamental structure image and the synthetic speckle image, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising a display unit to display the composite image.

  Furthermore, as a fourth aspect of the present invention, a probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a subject, and outputs the fundamental wave ultrasonic signal to drive the probe, and the probe A transmission / reception unit for receiving and processing the ultrasonic signal received by the image processing unit, and an image generation unit for generating a fundamental wave image and a harmonic image based on the fundamental wave and the harmonic reflection echo signal received and processed by the transmission / reception unit; A fundamental wave image separation unit that separates a fundamental wave structure image and a fundamental wave speckle image from the fundamental wave image generated by the image generation unit; and a harmonic speckle image from the harmonic image generated by the image generation unit. A harmonic image separation unit for extracting the fundamental wave speckle image, a speckle image selection unit for selecting one of the harmonic speckle images, and the selected fundamental speckle image And multiply each by a weighting factor set according to the depth A combining unit for forming, it proposes the composite image to display a composed and a display unit an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the resolution of a diagnostic image by effectively using speckles as diagnostic information.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the process sequence of the ultrasonic diagnosing device of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block block diagram of Example 1 of the image composition part of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an image synthesis procedure according to the first embodiment. It is a block block diagram of Example 2 of the image composition part of the present invention. It is a block block diagram of Example 3 of the image composition part of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments and examples.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present embodiment drives a probe 1 that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a subject, and outputs a fundamental ultrasonic signal. In addition, a transmission / reception unit 2 for receiving and processing an ultrasonic signal received by the probe 1 is provided. Further, an image generation unit 3 that generates a fundamental wave image and a harmonic image based on a fundamental wave and a harmonic reflection echo signal received by the transmission / reception unit 2, and a fundamental wave image generated by the image generation unit 3 An image composition unit 4 that generates a composite image shown in Examples 1 to 3 described later based on the harmonic image, and a display unit 5 that displays the composite image generated by the image composition unit 4 are provided. The image generating unit 3 and the image synthesizing unit 4 change the imaging conditions of the fundamental wave image and the harmonic image and the generating condition of the synthesized image based on a command input from the console 6.

  The probe 1 converts an ultrasonic signal given from the transmitting / receiving unit 2 into an acoustic signal and transmits the acoustic signal to a living tissue of a subject as a medium, and electrically reflects the acoustic signal reflected from the living tissue. The signal is converted to a signal and transmitted to the transmission / reception unit 2. The transmission / reception unit 2 forms an ultrasonic transmission beam, transmits / receives an ultrasonic signal from the probe 1 to the medium, receives the reflected echo signal, generates a reception beam signal, and sends it to the image generation unit 3. It is designed to output. For example, as in the conventional case, the transmission / reception unit 2 includes a transmission circuit, a transmission delay circuit, a reception circuit, a reception delay circuit, and the like, which are normal configurations of an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit. The image generation unit 3 generates an image generally called a fundamental wave image or a harmonic image based on the received beam signal obtained by receiving the reflected echo signal. These fundamental wave images and harmonic wave images are not shown, but are known by a known method according to a set frequency read from a memory storing initial values or a frequency selected by a frequency selection device provided on the console 6 by an operator. Can be generated.

The fundamental frequency f ₀ is the transmit frequency of the fundamental wave image can be variably set, harmonics ^(the n, a natural number) 2 ⁿ of the fundamental frequency f ₀ is a multiple of the received frequency. The frequency setting or selection by the operator can be set and selected by the operator using the console 6. The image generation unit 3 generates a reception beam corresponding to the frequency set or selected from the console 6 or the like, generates a fundamental wave image and a harmonic image, and outputs them to the image synthesis unit 4. The image composition unit 4 generates a composite image using the fundamental wave image, the harmonic image, and the weighting factors ka and kb generated by the image generation unit 3. The weighting factors ka and kb are weighting factors for adding and synthesizing two images to be synthesized, and are set as real numbers so that the sum (= ka + kb) thereof becomes 1.

  Specifically, the weighting factors ka and kb when adding and combining two images to be combined are variably set according to the depth. Weighting by depth is performed until the depth at which the high-quality image of the harmonic image is maintained, and the harmonic image is displayed in the shallower region, the fundamental image is displayed in the deeper region, and the harmonic image and the fundamental wave are displayed. In the vicinity of the image boundary, it is a weight that gently switches between the harmonic image and the fundamental image. In other words, the ultra-shallow region has a higher resolution weighted image (for example, speckle image) with a high resolution, and the deep part has an image derived from a fundamental wave image with excellent sensitivity (for example, a fundamental wave structure with speckles removed). Set the image weight to a high value. For example, in the depth range shallower than the first set depth d1, the weighting factor kb = 1 of the image derived from the harmonic image is set, and the weighting factor ka = 0 is set for the image derived from the fundamental wave image. Further, in the depth range up to the second set depth d2 that is deeper than the first set depth d1, the weighting factor ka = 0 to 1 is set for the image derived from the fundamental wave image, and the image derived from the harmonic image is set. Weight coefficient kb = (1−ka). Furthermore, in the depth range deeper than the second set depth d2, the weighting factor ka = 1 for the image derived from the fundamental image is set, and the weighting factor kb = 1 for the image derived from the harmonic image.

  The set depths d1 and d2 are set in the vicinity of the synthesis boundary in the depth direction when synthesizing the image derived from the fundamental wave image having excellent sensitivity in the deep portion and the image derived from the harmonic image excellent in resolution at the very shallow portion. The aim is to generate a composite image that does not cause luminance swell due to the difference in signal intensity. In particular, it is set in cooperation with the weighting factor so that the image of the extremely shallow portion is displayed with the same brightness as the fundamental wave image. Although not shown, the weighting factors ka and kb can be set in a memory for storing initial values, or can be given by a weighting factor setting device provided on the console 6 so that the operator can change them. it can. The generated composite image is output and displayed on the display unit 5.

  The console 6 includes a weighting factor setting device so that the operator can set a weighting factor for image quality adjustment. As the weighting factor setting device, a dial (switch) on a console, a slider, a numerical value input key, a pointing device for selecting from a frequency displayed on the screen, or a GUI (graphic user interface) using a touch panel can be used. The weighting coefficient variably set by the console 6 is given to the image generation unit 3 and the synthesis unit 4. For the convenience of the user, the fundamental wave image, the harmonic image, and the composite image can be switched by an instruction from the console 6.

Hereinafter, the image composition unit 4 will be described by dividing it into examples.
(Example 1)
FIG. 2 shows a detailed block diagram of the image composition unit 4 of the first embodiment. As illustrated, the image synthesis unit 4 includes a fundamental wave image separation unit 401 that takes in the fundamental wave image generated by the image generation unit 3 and separates the fundamental wave image into a fundamental wave structure image and a fundamental wave speckle image. ing. In addition, a harmonic image separation unit 402 that separates the harmonic speckle image from the harmonic image generated by the image generation unit 3 is provided. The fundamental speckle image separated by the fundamental wave image separation unit 401 and the harmonic speckle image separated by the harmonic image separation unit 402 are synthesized by the speckle image synthesis unit 403. Details of this synthesis will be described later with reference to FIG. The synthesized speckle image thus synthesized is synthesized with the fundamental wave structure image separated by the fundamental wave image separation unit 401 in the fundamental wave structure image / synthesis speckle image synthesis unit 404, and the synthesized image is output to the display unit 5. Is displayed.

  As described above, speckle is an interference fringe of reflected echo signal, and speckle image is an image in which speckles of various sizes are distributed over the entire image and appear as a mottled pattern. . The speckle image and the structure image are separated using a conventionally known speckle removal filter. Examples of known speckle removal filters include boundary preserving filters, Lee filters, and bilateral filters. When the fundamental wave image is processed by the speckle removal filter, an image without speckle is obtained, which is a fundamental wave structure image representing the structure of the image. That is, the fundamental wave structure image is an image processed by the speckle removal filter. The speckle image can be obtained by subtracting the fundamental wave structure image from the fundamental wave image. The fundamental wave speckle image separated from the fundamental wave image is given to the speckle image synthesis unit 403, and the fundamental wave structure image is given to the fundamental wave structure image / synthesis speckle image synthesis unit 404. Similarly to the fundamental wave image separation unit 401, the harmonic image separation unit 402 separates the harmonic speckle image of the harmonic image given from the image generation unit 3 and gives it to the speckle image synthesis unit 403. The speckle image synthesis unit 403 multiplies the fundamental speckle image given from the fundamental wave image separation unit 401 and the harmonic speckle image given from the harmonic image separation unit 402 by a weighting factor depending on the depth. Synthesize.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the processing procedure of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the embodiment of FIG. 1 and Example 1 will be described. The operator abuts the probe 1 on the subject, gives an electrical signal for forming an ultrasonic beam from the transmitter / receiver 2 to the probe 1, and transmits and receives the ultrasonic beam from the probe 1. A sound wave signal is given to the transmission / reception unit 2, a reception beam signal is formed by the transmission / reception unit 2, and a fundamental wave image and a harmonic image are generated from the reception beam signal (step S101). The image synthesizing unit 4 generates a synthesized image from the fundamental wave image and the harmonic image given from the image generating unit 3 and gives the synthesized image to the display unit 5, and the display unit 5 displays the given synthesized image (step S102). Next, when the operator determines that the fundamental wave image visualized at a preset frequency is not suitable for inspection, the frequency of the fundamental wave image is changed by a frequency selection device on the console 6 in order to change the image quality. (Step S103). The changed frequency is given to the image generating unit 3, the fundamental wave image generated by the changed frequency is given to the image synthesizing unit 4, and the image synthesizing unit 4 generates a new fundamental wave image and a frequency that is not changed. A synthesized image is generated from the higher harmonic image, and is applied to the display unit 5 to display the deflected synthesized image (step S104).

  In addition, when the operator determines that the harmonic image visualized at a preset frequency is not suitable for the inspection, the frequency of the harmonic image is changed by the frequency selection device on the console 6 in order to change the image quality ( Step S105). The changed frequency is given to the image generation unit 3, the harmonic image generated by the changed frequency is given to the synthesis unit 4, and the fundamental wave image generated at the frequency that is not changed by the synthesis unit 4 with a new harmonic image. A composite image is generated from the above and given to the display unit 5 to display the composite image (step S106). Then, the weighting factor is changed by the weighting factor setting device on the console 6 so that the synthesized image has an image quality more suitable for inspection (step S107). The changed weighting coefficient is given to the image composition unit 4. The image synthesizing unit 4 generates a synthesized image with the given weighting coefficient and gives it to the display unit 5 to display the synthesized image (step S108).

  FIG. 4 shows a state in which a fundamental speckle image and a harmonic speckle image are synthesized by a weighting factor. The fundamental wave speckle image is multiplied by a weighting factor ka that changes gently at the boundary (depth d1 to d2) between the fundamental wave speckle image and the harmonic wave speckle image to obtain an image A. A harmonic speckle image is multiplied to form an image B, and the image B is added to the image A to generate a combined speckle image. In the graph of the weighting factor ka and the weighting factor kb, the weighting factor 1 is indicated by a dotted line, and the weighting factor 0 is indicated by a broken line.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the synthesized image retains the structure and depth sensitivity of the harmonic image, and is synthesized and displayed as an image that retains the graininess of speckle grains in the harmonic image. Can do. As a result, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to display a harmonic speckle image at an extremely shallow portion as compared with the conventional technique with the same brightness as the fundamental wave structure image, and the undulation of luminance due to the difference in signal intensity near the boundary of synthesis. It is possible to display an image that does not cause the problem. That is, according to the present embodiment, the fundamental wave image structure and the depth sensitivity can be maintained, and can be synthesized and displayed as an image that retains the granularity of speckle grains in the harmonic image. In particular, when the fundamental wave structure image and the harmonic speckle image are simply added and synthesized, the image at a deeper depth becomes a superposed image and an image with reduced resolution. According to this embodiment, the fundamental wave This is improved because the speckle image is extracted and added and synthesized.

(Example 2)
FIG. 5 shows a detailed block diagram of the image composition unit 4 of the second embodiment. As shown in the figure, the difference from the first embodiment is that the speckle image synthesizing unit 403 of the first embodiment is omitted, and the fundamental wave structure image obtained by separating the fundamental wave speckle image by the fundamental wave separating unit 401, and the harmonics. The harmonic speckle image separated and extracted by the wave separation unit 402 is changed to a fundamental wave structure image / high frequency speckle image synthesis unit 414 that performs addition synthesis by multiplying by the same weighting factors ka and kb as in the first embodiment. It is in. Since other points are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  Further, as a modification of the second embodiment, the fundamental wave image separation unit 401 is omitted, and a fundamental wave that is added and synthesized by multiplying the fundamental wave image and the harmonic speckle image by the same weighting factors ka and kb as in the first embodiment. You may change to the structure part of a structure image / high-frequency speckle image.

  Further, as a modification of the second embodiment, the fundamental wave structure image / high-frequency speckle image 414 is synthesized by simply adding the fundamental wave structure image and the high-frequency speckle image without multiplying the weighting factors ka and kb. be able to. Further, the high frequency speckle image can be added and synthesized by multiplying by a predetermined constant.

(Example 3)
FIG. 6 shows a detailed block diagram of the image composition unit 4 of the third embodiment. As shown in the figure, the difference from the first embodiment is that a speckle selection unit 423 is provided instead of the speckle image synthesis unit 403, and a fundamental speckle image and a high frequency speckle image are displayed according to a command from the console 6. One of them is selected. Also, a fundamental wave structure image / selected speckle image synthesis unit 424 is provided instead of the fundamental wave structure image / synthesis speckle image synthesis unit 404 of the first embodiment.

  As a modification of the third embodiment, the fundamental wave structure image / selected speckle image synthesis unit 424 simply adds and synthesizes the fundamental wave structure image and the selected speckle image without multiplying the weight coefficients ka and kb. be able to. Alternatively, the selected speckle image can be added and synthesized by multiplying a predetermined constant multiple weighting factor.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on one Embodiment and Examples 1-3, this invention is not limited to these, It implements with the form deform | transformed or changed in the range of the main point of this invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that such modifications and variations are within the scope of the claims herein.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Probe 2 Transmission / reception part 3 Image generation part 4 Image composition part 5 Display part 6 Operation console 401 Fundamental wave image separation part 402 Harmonic image separation part 403 Speckle image composition part 404 Fundamental wave structure image / synthesis speckle image Compositing part

Claims (8)

  A probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from the subject, and outputs the fundamental wave ultrasonic signal to drive the probe, and receives and processes the ultrasonic signals received by the probe A transmitting / receiving unit, an image generating unit that generates a fundamental wave image and a harmonic image based on a reflected echo signal of the fundamental wave and the harmonic wave received by the transmitting / receiving unit, and a harmonic wave generated by the image generating unit A harmonic image separating unit that extracts a harmonic speckle image from the image; a combining unit that generates a combined image obtained by adding and combining the fundamental wave image and the harmonic speckle image; and a display unit that displays the combined image An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: And a fundamental wave image separation unit that extracts a fundamental wave structure image obtained by removing a fundamental wave speckle image from the fundamental wave image generated by the image generation unit,
The synthesizing unit performs addition synthesis by multiplying the fundamental wave structure image extracted by the fundamental wave image separation unit instead of the fundamental wave image and a weighting factor variably set in the harmonic speckle image. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.   A probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from the subject, and outputs the fundamental wave ultrasonic signal to drive the probe, and receives and processes the ultrasonic signals received by the probe Transmitting and receiving unit, an image generating unit for generating a fundamental wave image and a harmonic image based on the reflected echo signal of the fundamental wave and the harmonic wave received by the transmitting and receiving unit, and a fundamental wave generated by the image generating unit A fundamental wave image separation unit that extracts a fundamental wave structure image obtained by removing a fundamental wave speckle image from an image; and a harmonic image separation unit that extracts a harmonic speckle image from a harmonic image generated by the image generation unit; A combining unit that generates a combined image obtained by multiplying the fundamental wave structure image and the harmonic speckle image by a weighting coefficient that is variably set according to depth, and a display unit that displays the combined image; An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: The weighting factors are set so that their sum at the same depth is 1.
In a depth range shallower than the first set depth, a weighting factor for the fundamental wave image or the fundamental wave structure image is set to 0, and a weighting factor for the harmonic speckle image is set to 1,
In the depth range up to the second set depth deeper than the first set depth, the weighting coefficient for the fundamental wave image or the fundamental wave structure image is set by changing from 0 to 1,
The weighting factor for the fundamental wave image or the fundamental wave structure image is set to 1 and the weighting factor for the harmonic speckle image is set to 0 in a depth range deeper than a second set depth. Item 4. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to Item 3.   A probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from the subject, and outputs the fundamental wave ultrasonic signal to drive the probe, and receives and processes the ultrasonic signals received by the probe Transmitting and receiving unit, an image generating unit for generating a fundamental wave image and a harmonic image based on the reflected echo signal of the fundamental wave and the harmonic wave received by the transmitting and receiving unit, and a fundamental wave generated by the image generating unit A fundamental wave image separation unit that separates a fundamental wave structure image and a fundamental wave speckle image from an image; a harmonic image separation unit that extracts a harmonic speckle image from a harmonic image generated by the image generation unit; From the fundamental wave image, a speckle image synthesizing unit that generates a synthesized speckle image obtained by adding and synthesizing a fundamental wave speckle image and the harmonic speckle image by a weighting coefficient that is variably set according to depth, respectively. The fundamental wave structure image with the fundamental wave speckle image removed and the previous A combining unit for adding combines the synthetic speckle image, the composite image comprising a display unit for displaying an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The weighting factors are set so that their sum at the same depth is 1.
In a depth range shallower than the first set depth, the weighting factor for the fundamental speckle image is set to 0, and the weighting factor for the harmonic speckle image is set to 1,
In the depth range up to the second set depth deeper than the first set depth, the weight coefficient for the fundamental speckle image is set by changing from 0 to 1,
The weighting factor for the fundamental speckle image is set to 1 and the weighting factor for the harmonic speckle image is set to 0 in a depth range deeper than the second set depth. Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment.   A probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from the subject, and outputs the fundamental wave ultrasonic signal to drive the probe, and receives and processes the ultrasonic signals received by the probe Transmitting and receiving unit, an image generating unit for generating a fundamental wave image and a harmonic image based on the reflected echo signal of the fundamental wave and the harmonic wave received by the transmitting and receiving unit, and a fundamental wave generated by the image generating unit A fundamental wave image separation unit that separates a fundamental wave structure image and a fundamental wave speckle image from an image; a harmonic image separation unit that extracts a harmonic speckle image from a harmonic image generated by the image generation unit; A speckle image selection unit that selects one of the fundamental speckle image and the harmonic speckle image, and a weight that is set for each of the fundamental structure image and the selected speckle image according to the depth. A synthesis unit that performs addition synthesis by multiplying by a coefficient, and the synthesized image. Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising a display unit for. The weighting factors are set so that their sum at the same depth is 1.
In a depth range shallower than the first set depth, the weighting factor for the fundamental structure image is set to 0, and the weighting factor for the selected speckle image is set to 1,
In the depth range up to the second set depth deeper than the first set depth, the weight coefficient for the fundamental wave structure image is set by changing from 0 to 1,
The ultrasonic wave according to claim 7, wherein a weight for the fundamental wave structure image is set to 1 and a weight coefficient for the selected speckle image is set to 0 in a depth range deeper than a second set depth. Diagnostic device.

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